


From Distant Drums

by spierfics



Series: Spierfeld AU Collection [63]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simonverse | Creekwood Series - Becky Albertalli, simon vs the homo sapiens agenda - becky albertalli
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-21
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-08-27 05:01:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16695904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spierfics/pseuds/spierfics
Summary: xxxqueenvixenxxx on tumblr prompted: Can you do a fic where Simon finds out that Bram is terrified of them because of something that happened when he was a kid?





	From Distant Drums

The uneasiness began when Bram heard the first rumble of thunder. It was far off in the distance, but Bram knew it would be a matter of time before he’d be in the middle of it. 

All alone.

His mother was out of town for the weekend, a “ _convention_ ” she called it. But Bram knew it that sometimes the stress of everything got to her and she needed a getaway.

A flash of lightning caught his eye and Bram counted the seconds out loud to figure out how far the storm was; it was one of the coping mechanisms his father taught him.

“One, two thr-“ he whispered to himself when a considerably louder clap of thunder rendered him silent.

He wrapped himself in a throw blanket from the nearest sofa and grabbed his phone. If anything would distract him, this would.

* * *

Simon almost missed the texts on his phone, unable to hear the buzzing due to his Spotify playlist blasting through his headphones.

**I need help**

_Bram? everything okay?_

**I’m sorry. That sounded overdramatic**

_you forget who you’re speaking to_

_what’s wrong?_

**I need a movie recommendation that will serve as a distraction and also make me laugh**

_bee movie_

**you answered that way too fast**

**really, Si?**

_yup. guaranteed to make you feel better. either you’ll appreciate it for its superior comedy or you’ll laugh at how dumb it is._

**ok. I trust you**

_you haven’t been watching horror movies tonight have you? I know your mom’s at that convention._

**no, it’s not that**

_what is it then?_

Bram took a few moments to answer and it was then Simon learned he had a fear of storms. His next actions were instinctual, immediately running down the stairs and grabbing his car keys.

“Hey, bud? Need something from the car?”

His father was working in the office and had caught him in the foyer.

“Bram’s alone dad,” Simon answered.

“Still not hearing a case here,” Simon’s dad answered with a confused smile.

“His mom’s at a conference and he’s scared of storms. Like phobia-scared,” Simon glanced at his phone quickly to see if Bram had texted him again.

Jack took a deep breath, “Okay. Just let me drive you there,”

* * *

_sorry. mom needed me to take bieber out._

**in this storm??!**

_when bieber has his mind made up, nobody can convince him otherwise._

**i see he got that from you :)**

_i gave him the skills he needed to survive in this world_

Before Simon knew it, his father was turning into Bram’s driveway.

“Okay, I’m trusting you bud,”

“Thanks, dad,” Simon replied gathering his things. “Mom won’t mind, right?”

“I’ll cross that bridge for both of us,”

* * *

The sound of the doorbell was the last thing Bram expected to hear at this time of night. He was not proud of the yelp it produced, but Bram knew it was the nerves along with his imagination running wild. He could think of a hundred different scenarios which involved thunderstorms and murder, and they all started with a stranger at his door.

But Bram got the courage to rush to the window and pull back the curtains. There was no stranger at his doorstep, quite the opposite, but it was still someone who made Bram’s heart race.

“Surprise!” Simon said with a smile when Bram opened the door.

“What- How did you get here?” Bram looked outside. “You didn’t drive did you!?”

Even in this terrified state, Bram was still looking out for him. Simon shook his head, easing Bram’s worries. Well, at least some of them.

“You didn’t come all the way here for me did you?” Bram wondered sheepishly.

“Well I could have watched the Bee Movie by myself, but I realized that everything’s much better with you around,” Simon reached for Bram’s hand, squeezing him to let him know he wasn’t going anywhere.

They were happily distracted until halfway through the film when everything went dark.

Bram’s scream was accompanied with the thunder and Simon realized just how frightened Bram was.

“Hey, I’m here,” Simon mumbled softly, wrapping an arm around Bram’s waist. “I have an idea, but first…”

Simon reached for his phone, turning on the flashlight. “Better. Where’s yours?”

Bram turned on his flashlight and illuminated the room further.

“And now we head to the kitchen,” Simon explained.

Bram followed him closely, as they made their way to the kitchen. Simon found a pack of candles and a couple of flashlights.

Simon wondered if he should make a joke about candles and a romantic evening, but considering the state that Bram was in he decided against it. He had a better idea.

“Okay, we’re on a mission now,” Simon said seriously. “You need to point me in the direction of cocoa powder, milk, and mini-marshmallows if possible.

Bram was out of marshmallows, but they made do with the rest of the ingredients, and within ten minutes, the two of them made their way back to the living room with their own warm mugs of hot cocoa.

* * *

The sounds of the thunderstorm were slowly dissipating, but Simon insisted he was going to spend the night. They had made a make-shift bed in the living room, Bram didn’t have the nerve to go upstairs in the middle of the night.

Simon had been quiet for a while, and Bram had figured out why. They sat close together underneath a shared blanket, so Bram nudged him with his knee.

“Yeah?” Simon answered.

“You haven’t said anything for a while,”

“Just thinking,”

Yup. Bram’s inkling was confirmed. “You want to know why I’m so afraid of storms,”

“No! I mean, kind of. But then I also realized that you don’t necessarily need to have a reason, but…”

“Well that is true, but I do have a reason,” Bram said, and I don’t really know why I haven’t told you before. “I guess after every storm, I always feel like that’s the last time I’ll be scared of it, and I’m proven wrong again and again,”

“Bram…you don’t have to,”

“But I want to,” Bram said, setting aside his mug and grabbing Simon’s hands. “I feel like someday I’ll reveal too much and that would be the last straw for you,”

“Last straw?” Simon repeated, “Bram. Nothing about you will ever be a ‘last straw’ for me. There’s never been a ‘first straw’. There are no straws in this relationship,”

Bram laughed, Simon could always make him do that, laugh at the times he needed it most.

“Okay, so I was about eight-years-old, visiting my cousins’ place for the summer. It was one of those family gatherings where everybody stays in the same house and by the end of the week you all remember why you hate each other,”

Simon laughed but told Bram to continue.

“I was always the odd one out in my family, I guess.” Bram shrugged, and Simon could tell by his expression that this was something that still bothered him. “A scrawny little kid who always looked different than everyone on my mom’s side and my dad’s side,”

“ _Bram_ ,” Simon mumbled softly, wanting nothing more than to hold him close at that moment.

“Anyways, there was this massive storm one night, and they ambushed me outside of the hallway bathroom,” Bram paused there for a second, but built up the nerve to continue. “They took me to the shed outside and bolted the door shut, I was there till morning when my mom found me,”

Bram could tell by the shaky breath Simon took that this was no easy story to listen to, Bram hated recounting it. But he also hated keeping something from Simon.

“Si?”

“I’d kill them,”

Bram couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, Simon sounded so uncharacteristically angry.

“They were kids,” Bram reasoned.

“So were you!” Simon said, louder than Bram had expected, and Simon immediately apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be so loud. But I do mean what I said, if I ever met your cousins, they’d need to watch their backs,”

“I’m over it,” Bram said, “Well. Not completely, obviously. Storms are still horrible for me, but I’ve forgiven them.”

“I have not,” Simon said stubbornly, causing Bram to once again laugh at his indignant attitude.

“I guess what scares me the most is being a fifty-year-old man who’s still terrified of storms,”

“Would it be too presumptuous of me to say that I’d still be there to comfort you?”

Bram felt his heart skip a beat, knowing that Simon had completely put himself out there for Bram’s sake at that moment.

He leaned in slowly and gave Simon a soft kiss. “Nope. In fact, the only thing that puts those fears to rest is imagining you right by my side,”


End file.
